Jesse O. WallsEditor-in-Chief
It’s true—we live in a fast-paced world. Everyone is running to keep up, with the latest technologies, trends, styles, and if you blink you could miss them. It’s a jungle out there…a fight for survival, but are we allowing the fast lane to eliminate our need for character building and personality?
Thinking about this reminded me of the old adage “never judge a book by its cover.” We live in such a fast paced world that we don’t even take the time to skim the pages, let alone read the book. We make quick assumptions and hasty judgments, not wanting to take the time to get to know people, or let them get to know us, but rather we’re in a hurry to get to our next destination.
What our society has managed to accomplish is giving us ideals, rather than realistic values. Look at movies, books or music…once something hits it big, everything is packaged in the same manner and style because that is what people want. No one wants something new or inventive, or wants to take the time to invest in something different, but rather would have the same “Twilight” type vampire story over and over again, or Lady Gaga style music.
People are no different. They get this message that once something is popular, that is the way it should be. They spend so much time trying to be someone they are not, they start to lose who they are—they start to lose personality to keep up with appearances.
But admit it, we no longer want character. When we think about potential mates or girlfriends/boyfriends, we don’t name off personality traits-that would require too much time. Instead guys dream of blonde hair, blue eyed Wagnerian specialties, and girls fantasize about some dark haired, tanned skinned Adonis. Even the days of needing character are behind us.
Think about it. Is this what we have become – a society of cold machines? Can we not set aside our Facebook and Twitter just for a short while so we can strengthen our real-time friendships and relationships? Has the fast paced world really destroyed our need for personality over appearance, love over money, or friendship over popularity?
It may be a fast paced world, but nothing true happens overnight. Appearances don’t last forever and eventually we see we should have read the book; we should have taken the time to build character and to want character. The world may be able to change in a New York minute, but if you take the time, you might just be able to make those connections—those friendships and relationships—that will last a lifetime.
